Kingdom Hearts: Veiled Trust
by Eros.Talton
Summary: This story takes place between the events of Kingdom Hearts II and Dream Drop Distance. This is also a giant crossover between many different anime, with select characters from different franchises being survivors of their home worlds. The main theme of this story is trust and how one can lose and gain people because of it.
1. Chapter o1: Worlds Apart

**Chapter One: Worlds Apart**

Darkness, it was eternal, it was unyielding. King Mickey watched helplessly as another world succumbed to the all consuming force. A man, his hair switching from black to gold in a moment of desperation, was fighting away hordes of dark creatures, similar to the heartless...but different. After a few more moments of futile fighting, the world, the warrior, the creatures, were all gone. The magic crystal ball then returned to its crystal clear state once the vision was over.

"It seems another bond of trust brought down this breed of mighty people and their world," Yen Sid's voice was as ominous as always.

"Gawrsh, Master Yen Sid, that's gotta be the fourth world today," Goofy, the captain of King Mickey's royal guards, had obvious sadness and concern in his voice, "Wha'doya think your majesty?"

"Goofy, I don't know..." Mickey was clearly troubled and rightfully so. The Crystal Ball on Yen Sid's desk lit up again revealing the face of the dark menace behind these attacks. "He looks so much like Xehanort,"

"Yes, very curious," Yen Sid added, "A machination of evil that grows stronger when bonds of trust are severed," Mickey cast his eyes upward towards his master who seemed to know something, as usual.

"Master Yen Sid, does this sound familiar?"

"Vaguely. I just don't understand how these worlds, worlds that are outside our realms of existence; worlds that we have no authority over are being affected. The darkness with the capability to reach these worlds is a great darkness indeed - a formidable darkness."

"It's gotta be Maleficent!" Donald, King Mickey's High Mage, chimed in loudly.

"Easy Donald. As crafty as the Dark Mistress is, even Maleficent isn't capable of reaching these worlds," Yen Sid said. Donald sighed and scratched his head. "It seems that trust, being in every living heart, is a small wire that links us to worlds we shouldn't know exist. And I fear that this dark presence will soon prey on worlds that were saved by the light...and survivors of these unknown worlds might make their way there."

King Mickey's eyes widened with panic. "But Master, these worlds couldn't handle that kind of imbalance!" Mickey exclaimed. Donald and Goofy looked at each other with confused expressions, Goofy shrugging his shoulders.

"Wha'doya mean, your majesty?" Goofy asked.

"All of these worlds have a certain level of balance. Aladdin couldn't be in Peter Pan's world, he doesn't belong there; the world would simply collapse within itself over time. If these survivors end up in some of these worlds, there would be enormous repercussions."

"Precisely," Yen Sid added, satisfied with his pupil's conclusion.

"Master Yen Sid, what should we do?"

"We have allies, Mickey. Those that reside in the Radiant Garden; And, of course, the Keyblade Wielders."

"Aw gosh, Sora and Riku have been through enough already. I'd hate to drag them back into this so soon," Mickey admitted.

"They are Keyblade Wielders, this is their purpose. This is their destiny." Yen Sid's argument was absolute and Mickey couldn't deny that.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice then," Mickey concluded. "I'll send for Sora and Riku," he turned to his companions, "Goofy, Donald, I'm gonna need you guys, too. Get to the Radiant Garden and get Leon and the others together. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

* * *

"Next Stop, Radiant Garden!" Chip's voice yelled as he and his brother, Dale, started up the Gummi Ship. It was a strange sight, to see such a colorful, fantastical ship on the beach of Destiny Islands. The cool ocean breeze swept over the trio: Sora, Riku and Kairi stood side-by-side in a circle, King Mickey's note in Kairi's hand,

_Sora,_

_I hope that you, Riku and Kairi have been able to enjoy a period of peace. Regrettably, I must inform you that you're needed once again. A great darkness has been forming in secret and destroying worlds that we shouldn't even know about, worlds that shouldn't exist with us. More about this later; myself, Donald and Goofy will meet you at the Radiant Garden in three days time. I'm looking forward to seeing you and Riku._

_King Mickey_

"Well that's incredibly vague," Kairi said, and rolled up the letter after she finished reading.

"Isn't it always?" Riku agreed. There was an awkward silence between them.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Kairi asked, the question was more towards Sora.

"I honestly don't know. If it's anything like our recent adventures, it'll be awhile," he replied.

"I wish I could go," Kairi said.

"You're better off here, Kairi. You've been through enough, you don't need to get tangled into all this again," Riku said matter-of-factly.

"You know I don't mind helping," she defended.

"We know that, Kairi. If we need you, we know where to find you." Sora chimed in. This seemed to reassure Kairi and help her find peace with the situation.

"Well, don't keep the King waiting long; just be safe, okay?" Kairi smiled and Sora smiled back. They embraced and Riku scoffed, with his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

"Alright you two break it up," Riku laughed.

Kairi then gave an unexpected hug to Riku and whispered, "Keep him safe," in his ear. Riku nodded his head and Kairi stepped back, her eyes traveling from Riku to Sora. "Looks like you guys have a ride to catch."

"We'll see you soon," Sora said, smile in full.

* * *

The Radiant Garden was ever growing and overlooked the once great palace of Hollow Bastion. Riku and Sora were always amazed at the beauty of the Radiant Garden and both of them waited on bated breath as the Gummi Ship approached the world.

"It's hard to believe this is where it all started. For me at least," Riku said, referring to his first meet with Maleficent. "Glad those days are over."

"Goes without saying," Sora agreed, he wasn't fond of Riku's dark days and opted not to think about them altogether. "Are you ready for this?" Sora changed the subject.

"We're not even sure what _this_ is," Riku folded his arms, "If it's anything like before, no I'm not. I was enjoying the peace and quiet a little too much, I guess."

"We're here!" Dale yelled at the top of his lungs.

Once landed, Sora and Riku exited the ship and proceeded towards the marketplace where it was surprisingly empty…and quiet. It was eerie and neither of them liked it; Riku was growing especially tense. Scrooge McDuck's shop was closed down and Hewey, Dewey and Louie were nowhere to be found.

"Aren't they expecting us?" Sora asked curiously. The ground began to tremble under them and a loud explosion was heard in the distance. Neither of them waited a second longer before taking off towards it. As they entered the town Square, they saw Merlin's house with the door wide open. "Merlin!" Sora called out, no response was given. They both entered Merlin's abode to find Cid sitting at the computer, monitoring surveillance.

"Cid!"

"Welcome back, kid," he greeted.

"Cid's what's going on? Where is everybody?"

"Just outside Hollow Bastion," came Yuffie's voice from behind them. Sora was glad to see his old friend. "The King thought you might be here, we're having a little trouble and can use some help."

"King Mickey's here?" Riku asked.

"Yes, everyone's here, come on! Cid, keep lines of communication open, we had trouble getting through to you!" Yuffie stated. Cid dismissed her with a wave of his hand and cursed obscenities under his breath. Yuffie turned her back and took off, followed by Riku then Sora.

Crossing through the Bailey and down through the Crystal Fissure, the trio were able to see the Great Maw where there was a battle ensuing. They resumed their march but were stopped halfway by dark red creatures with black eyes. The creatures each had a black, upside-down heart on their chest and closely resembled Heartless.

"What are these things?" Riku asked, his Way of the Dawn keyblade immediately appearing in his hand.

"Distrusts," Yuffie replied, gripping tightly to her large shuriken. "And right now they're just in our way!" she swung her arm forward and let her weapon fly, cutting through a distrust and spiraling back to her hand.

Sora summoned his Kingdom Key just in time to parry an attack of one of the Distrusts. With a thrust of his weapon he was able to cut the creature fairly easily but he was alarmed at their speed; had his weapon not appeared in time he surely would have been wounded. Effortlessly, Riku was able to cut through the Distrust in his path and the trio resumed their march to towards the Great Maw. Yuffie and Riku immediately jumped into the fray but Sora remained still taking in the surroundings for a moment. King Mickey and Leon were fighting off a small battalion of Distrusts; Aerith and Donald were summoning a powerful fire spell to burn through more of the creatures and Goofy was bashing through them full speed.

Sora leaped forward and blocked an incoming attack towards King Mickey and successfully repelled the creature.

"Sora!" King Mickey said, enthused.

"Hi, your majesty!" he said.

"Bout time you showed up," Leon muttered behind him.

"Hey, we didn't know this was going on!" Sora yelled back, while slashing through another Distrust.

"Less talking, Sora," Leon sliced through two Distrusts with a single blow, "more fighting," he finished.

"How did this happen?" Riku asked after kicking back a creature.

"They attacked when she showed up," Yuffie pointed out in the distance to a girl with red-hair wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts. She had strange looking creatures around her repelling the Distrusts for her, like bodyguards. The two creatures were blasting streams of water the Distrusts, protecting the girl at all costs while she seemed to just yell at them.

"She looks like she needs more help!" Riku cut through the creature in front of him and ran closer to the girl who didn't seem to notice him at all.

"Corsola, use pin missile!" the girl shouted, "Staryu, water gun, let's go!" The pink and white coral creature, Corsola, released a flurry of golden needles, piercing through many of the Distrusts around her while the golden star creature, Staryu, was able to blast another group of monsters back with a surge of water. Riku was in disbelief!

This girl seemed completely busy coaching her companions that she didn't seem to notice a Distrust coming behind her.

"Look out!" Riku yelled, finally getting her attention. He tossed his blade in the air, landing directly into the creature, killing it; the blade was sticking about an inch away from the girls face.

"Hey, what the heck is wrong with you?! You could have cut my head off!" Riku was stunned, was she really scolding him right now? Riku jumped over her creatures and landed right beside her, pulling his blade out of the Distrust.

"A simple 'thank you' would be just fine?" he replied, still shocked.

"An inch closer and I would have been done for!"

"Alright, geeze, I won't make that mistake again," Riku's response only seemed to make her more upset; there was no pleasing her.

On the other side of the Great Maw, Sora, Mickey and Leon were having a hard time keeping up with the never ending attack.

"Your majesty, we can't keep this up forever," Leon said. Mickey knew this, but he wasn't sure how to stop them. If they were anything like Heartless then light would be an effective weapon and at this point, there wasn't anything to lose.

"Sora, hold up your Keyblade," Mickey instructed. Sora raised his Keyblade in the air and Mickey did the same, pointing his towards Sora's. A bright light burst from the tip of Mickey's weapon and, as if a trigger response, the same happened with Sora's. When the two lights met, a series of other lights began to cascade around blasting the many Distrusts and knocking them away. This happened for several moments until the Distrusts were completely gone.

"Thank goodness," Aerith said, all but collapsing on top of Donald who was equally as exhausted.

Mickey, Sora and Leon approached Riku who was trying to console the insufferable red head. Her two creatures stood between her and Riku and wouldn't let him come any closer than he was.

"Hello there," Mickey said, his tone very friendly, "Who might you be?" The girl looked down at Mickey and was a little flabbergasted.

"A giant, talking, mouse…" she responded under her breath.

"We mean you no harm. We were trying to save you from the Distrusts," Leon said.

"Is that what those things are called?" she asked. "Misty, my name is Misty."

"Where are you from, Misty?" King Mickey asked.

"I'm not sure," she sighed. "I'm having trouble remembering things. I was with my friends…and then everything went black. And now I'm here…"

"We really should get back to home base and debrief. Misty, we'd really appreciate it if you came with us," Leon said.

"Sure," Misty agreed, "as long as Bozo over here doesn't try and take my head off again." Misty gestured towards Riku.

"Again, "you're welcome," Misty." Riku replied with a half smile on his face.

* * *

Unthinking. Unmoving. Unfeeling.

His red eyes remained fixated on the viewing globe before him, showcasing the display of fighting between King Mickey, his comrades and the Distrust. Though this man's army was defeated by the might of the Keyblade this time, he knew this would be a temporary setback at best. He had bigger fish to fry than that girl, Misty.

"Master Aoden," the voice of one of his servants, Mozenrath of Agrabah, interrupted Aoden's thoughts, "It appears the Distrust were defeated this time."

"Your powers of perception are staggering," Aoden replied with venomous sarcasm. "Let them have this victory. We have more at stake right now, anyway. It seems as if another _survivor_ has made its way to your world, isn't that right Mozenrath?"

"Yes sir, just a few moments ago. I'd be glad to lead the crusade to apprehend him or her."

"Not so fast," Aoden stood from his throne and approached another one of his faithful servants; this man had green skin and wore a purple outfit, a long white cape and a white cap. "Piccolo, is this survivor from your homeland?" Piccolo didn't respond, "Piccolo, are you hard of hearing?"

"No," he replied simply. "And I'm not sure. It's too soon to tell," he said monotone.

"Well, it's prudent that we find out then, wouldn't you agree?" Picollo merely nodded his head. "Perfect, you and Mozenrath will lead the search in Agrabah. Meanwhile, another survivor has seemed to have found their way into Princess Belle's domain. I'll dispatch another team there, as well."

"Yes sir," Mozenrath replied obediently.

"And don't let me down. You both should know by now how I respond to…disappointment."

"Yes sir," Mozenrath replied again, this time with a more nervous tone to his voice. Without another word, Mozenrath conjured a portal of darkness and he and Piccolo were gone.


	2. Chapter o2: Return to Agrabah

**Chapter 2: Return to Agrabah**

The aftermath of the battle was pretty horrendous. Volunteers of the restoration committee were picking up the area and trying to repair as much damage as possible. Mean while, everyone else found their way back to Merlin's, where they found Cid still on the computer continuing to monitor surveillance. Sora was able to reunite with Donald and Goofy and the three embraced each other in a long hug. Riku accompanied Misty to a chair and offered her some water which she didn't decline. Leon, Aerith and Yuffie stood next to the doorway and King Mickey was in the center of all of them.

"So, my world was destroyed?" Misty broke the silence. All eyes fell on King Mickey who seemed to be only one that could have any answers.

"It's likely," Mickey said. Misty didn't say anything further, rather she found a spot on the ground and remained silent. "But I'm still not altogether sure; there are still a lot of things that don't add up."

"That's putting it lightly," Leon agreed.

"What world are you from?" Sora asked. Misty looked up with a puzzled expression on her face.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," she admitted.

"Those creatures that protect you, what are those?" Sora elaborated.

"My Pokemon?"

"What's a Pokemon?"

"Pokemon are a species that exist in my world. Humans and Pokemon live harmoniously, and we have the ability to train them as our companions. My Staryu and Corsola are two of my Pokemon that were fighting for me."

"Do you have more of them?" Riku was almost afraid to ask.

Misty turned to face him, "stay tuned," she replied.

"How was her world affected?" Sora asked.

"The man behind this darkness has found worlds that we shouldn't know about; worlds that exist in their own universe, but have somehow begun to collide with ours. How or why he's doing this, I have no idea. The creatures he's summoning, the Distrusts, are formed when the bonds of trust between two hearts are broken."

"But that doesn't seem like an uncommon thing. Trust is broken in everyday life, so it doesn't make sense that it's the sole catalyst in a world's destruction," Riku said.

"Exactly. Yet somehow he's been able to magnify this broken trust and use it as a weapon to swallow worlds in darkness."

"What happens to the inhabitants?" Riku asked.

"They find their ways to other worlds, like Misty." Mickey finished.

Sora was in disbelief of the entire thing: New worlds, worlds that shouldn't exist, a sorcerer who can destroy worlds by breaking bonds of trust. He met eye contact with Riku who shared the same expression of concern.

"So my friends, they could be in other worlds right now?" Misty asked.

"Absolutely," Mickey replied with a hopeful tone to his voice, trying to be as comforting as he could.

"Speaking of which, we got two new arrivals," Cid interrupted and all eyes turned towards him. King Mickey all but leapt forward towards the computer screen with Leon right behind him. "It seems like one of 'em is in Princess Jasmine's home world."

"Agrabah," Sora and Riku both said in unison.

"The other is in Princess Belle's dominion," King Mickey said, "Great job, Cid!"

"It could be one of my friends!" Misty exclaimed.

"It could be, but we need to get there to know for sure. Merlin!" King Mickey yelled, beckoning the wizard to make an appearance. Just a few moments later in a puff of smoke, the great wizard appeared clad in his normal blue wizard uniform and hat. "Do you have the amulets, Merlin?"

"Yes, of course your majesty," Merlin said. His wand appeared in his hand and he gave it a swish. On the table behind Sora and Riku were several necklaces with blue crystals attached that appeared.

"What are these?" Sora asked.

"Sora, Riku, this mission is going to be hardest yet, I just know it. Master Yen Sid and I agreed it was time to bend some rules. Being keyblade wielders, you two have been able to travel from world to world effortlessly. Donald and Goofy are my loyal subjects and also have the authority to travel with you. But this time, you guys are going to need more help. These necklaces will allow Leon, Yuffie and Aerith the ability to travel with you to each of these worlds without causing a major imbalance. And these extra necklaces must be given to the survivors to prevent any imbalance altogether."

"You guys are willing to come with us?" Riku asked.

"Absolutely," Aerith responded.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Sora said with an excitement that not everyone else shared. Yuffie laughed awkwardly with him.

"With there being two survivors on different worlds, it means we need to split up," King Mickey instructed, "Sora, Donald, Yuffie and Leon, you'll be traveling to Agrabah. Riku, Goofy and Aerith, you three will visit Beast's Castle."

"Oh great, Beast," Riku was less than enthusiastic.

"Don't worry Riku, I'm sure he remembers you," Sora said encouragingly.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Riku said. The last time he saw Beast was outside the gates of Hollow Bastion, preventing Beast from seeing Belle. It wasn't one of his finer moments and he hoped that Beast was informed he was a good guy now.

"What about you, King Mickey?" Sora asked.

"I'm going to be following a lead elsewhere. I can't really say much about it yet."

"You're joking, right?" Riku was in disbelief over the Kings sudden secrecy.

"You're just gonna have to trust me on this, and really trust me. Especially, given our enemies sudden predilection over trust issues. I will meet you guys here when you all return. Hopefully I'll have more answers for us." Riku didn't say anything. It wasn't too long ago that Riku and the King never kept secrets from each other and worked side by side against Xehanort. He not knowing exactly what the King was thinking was new to him.

"Wait a second, I'm going too." Misty spoke up. "Some of my friends could be out there and you're going to need me to get through to them. And if you think I'm just going to sit around here then you're wrong!" The girl made King Mickey nervous and a part of him was afraid to say no to her.

"Okay, Misty, you can go with –" Mickey began but was quickly interrupted.

"I'll go with Sora," she decided while glaring at Riku. Riku shook his head and folded his arms.

"Fine with me. Have fun, Sora." Riku tried to fight back a smile.

"Haha…Thanks," Sora responded awkwardly.

* * *

Agrabah wasn't a far off journey from the Radiant Garden and everybody, especially Misty, was eager to get off the ship. Once landed, they were greeted by the warm, unforgiving heat that Agrabah was known for. No matter how many times Sora had visited, he would never get used to it. They arrived inside the market which was surprisingly empty.

"This is odd," Sora recalled the marketplace being the life of Agrabah, always booming with business and traders bringing rare items from around the world.

"It's like a ghost town," Yuffie observed.

"It's usually not, though," Sora said.

"Sure is weird, somethin' fishy is goin' on," Donald agreed.

"Let's try and find Aladdin. Keep on the lookout for someone who looks out of the ordinary," Sora instructed.

"Next to us, you mean?" Yuffie laughed, elbowing Leon in the side. Leon shook his head and resumed walking with Sora, "Geeze, tough crowd."

There wasn't much luck on finding anyone. It really was if everyone in Agrabah had left. The marketplace, the main alley, the back alley, all of it was deserted. Maybe Aladdin was in the palace? Maybe that's where everyone was? Sora stopped and turned to Yuffie,

"Yuffie, we need some eyes above; we need to know if there is anybody anywhere. Can you help?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Yuffie ran towards the nearest building and began scaling the wall like it was nothing. Once she acquired enough latitude, she pushed herself away from the wall and grabbed onto a clothesline. With another quick move, she pulled herself up and continued up the clothesline and jumped off at a higher building. From there she was able to see most of Agrabah, including the palace in the background and large group of people outside the gate, "Sora, it looks like everyone is outside the palace!"

"Okay, that's not too far ahead," Sora said.

"Yuffie, stay high. Meet us there but be on the lookout for anything or anyone suspicious," Leon instructed.

"Got it!" Yuffie said before taking off towards another roof.

It wasn't too much longer that they arrived outside the palace gates where a mob of angry people gathered. In the center Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu and Carpet who were trying to calm the people.

"The water supply is all gone, what are we to do?" One of the commoners said.

"We understand, we're doing everything we can to secure the trading route. Right now we just have to be more conservative," Princess Jasmine was trying her hardest to calm down the angry mob, but there was no use.

Sora found any attempt to break through the mob to get to Aladdin and Jasmine to be futile, however his efforts weren't unnoticed; Abu began waving frantically when he recognized Sora and got Carpet's attention. As soon as Aladdin and Jasmine were behind closed doors, Carpet flew over, swooped down and stopped at Sora.

"Hey, Carpet, long time no see!" Sora exclaimed. Carpet began bending and twisting, giving off the vibe it was excited. "These are my friends; can you take us up to Aladdin?" Carpet laid flat on the ground and Sora stepped onto it followed by Donald, "C'mon guys," he said to Leon and Misty. Reluctantly, the both of them stepped on and not a moment later did Carpet ascend into the air and over the palace walls.

Aladdin and Jasmine were sitting in the main courtyard, Aladdin offering comfort to Jasmine. Carpet lowered to the ground in front of them,

"Hey! Aladdin! Princess Jasmine!" Sora exclaimed with excitement.

"Sora? Donald?" Aladdin stood up, "What are two doing here?" He asked, while examining Leon and Misty thoroughly having not seen them before.

"We're looking for someone, but first thing is first, what's going on here?" Sora asked.

"It's horrible, really. Mozenrath has isolate Agrabah from trading routes and the oasis. We're virtually running out of water."

"Who's Mozenrath?" Donald asked.

"A dark sorcerer from the Land of the Dark Sand, has an entire army of undead to do his bidding. Recently he stormed Agrabah in search of some refugee and has cut us off of all our resources until someone brings him forward," Jasmine explained.

"And not to make things worse, but he took Genie," Aladdin added.

"Oh, Genie!" Donald cried.

"That's awful. How much water do you guys have left?" Sora asked, Jasmine pointed over a to an almost empty moat of water.

"We've been conservative, but we'll be completely dry in about a day or two, if we're lucky," Jasmine sighed.

"Maybe I can help," Misty stepped forward.

"Who are you?" Aladdin asked, the question more towards Sora.

"Oh right, Aladdin, Jasmine, this is Misty and that's Leon; they're with us." Sora said brightly.

"How can you help?" Jasmine's interest was piqued.

"Staryu, c'mon out!" She pulled out a red and white capsule, which immediately became five times bigger after she touched a button at the center. She tossed the ball into the air and a bright red light surged from the ball, revealing the silhouette of the star-like creature that fought for her back at the Radiant Garden. "Staryu, use water gun and fill up that moat!" Staryu responded by making a loud "AYYA" reply and shot a stream of water out from its top star-point.

"That's incredible!" Jasmine exclaimed. Within a matter of minutes, the moat was completely full of fresh water.

"This should help you guys a little bit," Misty said, she held up the ball to Staryu, "Staryu, return!" The ball shot out the same red light at Staryu and brought it back into the ball.

"I don't know how I could ever thank you!" Jasmine was elated.

"Don't mention it," Misty replied.

"Nice job, Misty," Sora cheered.

"You said this 'Mozenrath' character was looking for someone?" Leon changed the subject and got back to business.

"Yeah, he and some strange accomplice threatened to also destroy the city if we didn't bring him forward," Aladdin explained.

"Did you find anyone?" Leon asked; Aladdin looked to Jasmine, almost secretly asking her permission to answer the question and she nodded her head.

"Yes, we have him," Aladdin answered.

"Can we see him?" Misty had urgency in her voice, "It could be one of my friends!"

"Is that why you're here, Sora?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes, and it's important that we find him as soon as possible," Sora said.

"Of course, this way," Jasmine led them through the Palace entrance and all the way to the west side where the guest chambers were located. She had the guards open the door and let them in. What they found was a man, clad in a black body suit, was unconscious. "He's been like this for awhile," she said.

"And we weren't going to just give him over to Mozenrath. No telling what that maniac wanted him for," Aladdin said. "Do you recognize him, Misty?" Misty got a little closer to examine him, but her almost defeated expression told everyone she didn't.

"No, I have no idea who he is," Misty sighed.

"Get a necklace on him," Leon instructed. Sora pulled a necklace out of his pocket and tied it around the man's neck. "Good, well that's one good thing."

"Now to find Mozenrath and free Genie!" Sora said, Leon looked less than enthused.

"Sora…" he began, "We do have a mission to complete."

"Leon, we can't leave Aladdin now. We have to get Genie back. They're our friends!" Donald quacked aloud.

"Yeah, the King would want us, too," Sora agreed.

Leon threw his hands up in defeat and was resolved to the fact that they were staying, "Fine," he said.

As they group made their way back to the courtyard, they began discussing Mozenrath's location and planning their attack. Sora wasn't sure how to handle this one; he didn't sound anything like Jafar, outside of him just being obviously evil.

"How far is the Land of the Black Sand?" Leon asked.

"Not too far. We could actually get there pretty quickly on Carpet. But we'll have to be careful. Mozenrath's specialty is necromancy and can create legions of undead instantly," Aladdin explained.

"I don't know if Carpet can carry all of us," Sora said.

"It's fine, I'll stay behind. I'll keep an eye on our guest and help deliver water to the Marketplace," Jasmine said as they entered the courtyard.

"Actually, none of you will be going anywhere," Mozenrath's voice echoed throughout the courtyard and then he slowly began to descend from above. "Isn't this a fine sight, Piccolo? A keyblade wielder!" he said to his companion who was levitated right next to him. Piccolo didn't reply.

"Mozenrath! Let Genie go!" Aladdin demanded.

"My dear, Aladdin, you're in no place to be negotiating," he taunted. "Now, didn't I tell you if you didn't turn over the refugee I would ransack this place? I have it on good authority that he's here."

All of them looked shocked.

"How did you -?" Sora began but was cut off by Aladdin.

"You'll have to get through us first!" he yelled.

"Yeah, I figured. Not a problem." Mozenrath snapped his fingers and small battalion of Distrusts appeared before them. "No mercy, guys!"

"Oh no, not these guys again!" Misty complained.

"Oh good, the fight was brought to us. Makes things easier," Leon readied his gunblade and made the first attack, cutting through a Distrust with ease.

Sora summoned his keyblade and watched as Aladdin drew his sword. Both of them jumped into the fray with Leon and began attacking Distrusts. Donald raised his wand to the air and conjured a lightning spell, raining down bolts of electricity on many Distrusts, stunning them. Misty grabbed two of her Pokeballs and tossed them in the air.

"Corsola, Staryu, let's go!" She yelled. When the two creatures appeared it didn't take long for them to join into the fighting as well. "Corsola, pin missile! Staryu, swift!" She coached and her Pokemon obeyed.

"She seems out of the ordinary, doesn't she?" Mozenrath observed. "What do you think, Piccolo?"

"I don't think she's who we're here for," he answered. Mozenrath scoffed.

"Regardless. I think she's the one who appeared in the Radiant Garden. Master Aoden would sure be thrilled if we brought back two refuges, rather than – WHAT!" Mozenrath was taken off guard by the sudden appearance of Leon in mid-air, his blade poised to strike.

"SURPRISE!" Leon brought down his blade and Mozenrath barely had time to dodge. Angry, Mozenrath raised his hand blasted a beam of energy from his gauntlet, knocking Leon back.

"You pest, I'll take care of you for good!" Mozenrath raised his hand once more to release another energy blast.

"Think again!" Yuffie leapt into the sky and tossed a shuriken at Mozenrath, penetrating his gauntlet and sticking into his hand. The sorcerer cried out in pain and Yuffie landed on her feet next to Leon, "Are you alright?"

"Bout time you showed up. Where were you?" Leon scolded.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked. And you're welcome, by the way." Their exchange was brief as a Distrust jabbed its arm into Yuffie knocking her back. Leon slashed the creature into oblivion with his blade not a second later.

"Piccolo! Don't just sit here, do something!" Mozenrath yelled venomously.

Piccolo raised his hand and sent a flurry of white energy beams to the ground. Leon and Yuffie were able to dodge them by jumping back and forth. Donald was able to cancel one out with a fire blast from his wand and Sora began deflecting them with his keyblade. Examining Piccolo further, Sora deduced that Piccolo wasn't from Agrabah; Mozenrath must have been controlling him.

"Wind!" Sora yelled, a gust of wind surged from the tip of his weapon and surrounded him, giving him flight. Sora ascended quickly into the air towards Piccolo and swung his keyblade at him, knocking him down to the ground.

"Meddling Idiot!" Mozenrath cursed, raising his other hand towards Sora, readying a blast of energy.

"Corsola, pin missile!" Misty yelled. Corsola shot a flurry of tiny white-light needles, hitting Mozenrath dead on.

"Stupid girl! Take this!" He sent out a blast of energy towards the small creature.

"Corsola, mirror coat!" The tiny coral-like creature began to glow deep red and as soon as Mozenrath's energy blast met contact with the creature, it immediately was shot back, hitting Mozenrath unexpectedly and sending him spiraling into a wall.

Yuffie and Leon ran towards Piccolo as he rose from the ground. Leon swung his blade down on the green-being, but Piccolo managed to dodge it and delivered a quick kick to Leon's hip, sending him flying across the courtyard.

"Leon!" Sora cried out. With his keyblade ready, Sora began to descend towards Piccolo, ready to strike. Piccolo raised his index and middle finger to his forehead and began concentrate. Energy began to outline around him, an orange light began to emanate from his finger tips. And then, then he threw his arm forward, fingers extended towards Sora and an orange, spiraling light shot out.

"Special Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled. Sora stopped and held his Keyblade in front of him to block the fatal blow.

"Piccolo! What are you doing?!" Came a voice from the palace entrance. All eyes turned to find the man, the unnamed refugee in all black, standing upright with his gaze glued on Piccolo.

"Gohan?" Piccolo muttered in disbelief.

~~ Hey guys! Stay tuned for Chapter o4 to see the resolution in Agrabah! - Eros


End file.
